Confusing The Enemy: The Cus D’Amato Story

Boston, MA (May 2013) - Acanthus Publishing is excited to announce the pre-publication
release of Confusing the Enemy: The Cus
D’Amato Story (Acanthus Publishing, 2013), written by co-authors Dr. Scott
Weiss and Paige Stover. Available for purchase in July, this biographical novel
explores the life of legendary boxing manager Cus D'Amato with all the accuracy
possible, given the host of conflicting stories and contradictory accounts
surrounding his enigmatic existence. The story features an eclectic mix of
characters including Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, José Torres, Frankie
Carbo, Howard Cosell, Roy Cohn, Sonny Liston, Drew “Bundini” Brown, Malcolm X,
Cus D’Amato, and more.

As
manager of multiple world champion boxers and creator of the “peek-a-boo” style
of fighting, many people loved and respected Cus. Yet others thought he was crazy.
To this day, hundreds of boxing fans believe that he was one of the greatest manager-trainers
to ever live. Just as many think he so carefully matched his fighters that they
ascended to the title more on strategic selection of opponents than on ring
prowess. He is often characterized as a knight in shining armor on a quest to clean
up the sport of prizefighting. Several others call in to question his personal
life and suggest that he was the biggest gangster of them all. Regardless of your
position, readers who love boxing will not be able to put this book down.

The
authors, Dr. Weiss and Paige Stover, have interviewed virtually everyone in the
boxing world willing to discuss Cus D'Amato. Many refused to be quoted. Others only
rehashed the same information that has circulated on the grapevine for years.
Very few were willing to take a stand. Weiss and Stover have worked tirelessly to
uncover the essence of a man who dedicated his life to covering his tracks. In
doing so, the authors have discovered aspects unknown to the general public,
such as Cus’s relationship with Muhammad Ali and the determination with which
he tried to set up the Ali–Frazier fight. This book raises as many questions as
it answers about the life of Cus D'Amato, but in doing so tells a captivating story
about the most dramatic moments in the history of the heavyweight title.

“Confusing the Enemy is the story of an
exceptionally gifted individual who was a mystery to most people who
encountered him,” says Paige Stover. “This book offers readers an up-close and
personal glimpse of the extraordinary man who had an amazing ability to bring
out the best in a fighter and cultivate a life-long bond in the process. It
reveals his ascendancy to the elite status he earned in the world of boxing,
but also tackles the rumors, scandals, erratic behavior, and conflicting
reports that shroud his history.”

“From
Cus working to pull together the match with Ali and Frazier, to his advisory
relationship with Wilfred Benitez, Gerry Cooney, the Hilton Brothers, and Wilt
Chamberlain, this book revoked unprecedented detail of his life,” says Dr.
Weiss. “Cus was arrested, had his license suspended, was chased by tax
authorities, and was adjudicated bankrupt. His life was threatened on more than
one occasion by the likes of Rocky Graziano, Sonny Liston, and various
associate of the Five Families of New York. His story will take you on a wild
ride that transcends the world of boxing.”

For
all review copies, contact Luke Messecar at Luke@IctusInitiative.com. For more
information, visit www.ConfusingTheEnemy.com.